The present invention relates to a mammalian cell culture apparatus which has a high ratio of surface area for growth to total apparatus volume and which can provide sufficient oxygen to high density cultures of mammalian cells grown in large volumes.
Anchorage-dependent cells have traditionally been grown on a large scale on the inside of rotating bottles. As the bottles roll, the cells are alternately exposed to oxygen in the air space and to the growth medium. The surface area for growth is only a small percentage of the total bottle volume, and thus many roller bottles are required to produce even small quantities of cells. For example, only 3.times.10 cells can be obtained from a bottle with a surface area of 500 cm . This low ratio of surface area for growth to total bottle volume results in high cost of serum usage. Furthermore, the roller bottles cannot provide sufficient oxygen to high density cultures of mammalian cells grown in large volumes.